Benazir Bhutto elected leader of Pakistan - Nov 16, 1988 - HISTORY.com Benazir Bhutto elected leader of Pakistan Share this: Benazir Bhutto elected leader of Pakistan Author Benazir Bhutto elected leader of Pakistan URL Publisher A+E Networks In Pakistan, citizens vote in their first open election in more than a decade, choosing as prime minister the populist candidate Benazir Bhutto, daughter of former Pakistani leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. She was the first woman leader of a Muslim country in modern history. After General Mohammed Zia-ul-Haq seized power in Pakistan in a military coup in 1977, Zulfikar Bhutto was tried and executed on the charge of having ordered an assassination in 1974. Benazir Bhutto endured frequent house arrests during the next seven years. In 1984, she fled to England, where she became head of her father’s former party, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). In 1988, President Zia died along with the American ambassador to Pakistan in a mysterious plane crash, leaving a power vacuum. Bhutto returned to Pakistan and launched a nationwide campaign for open elections.

In elections on November 16, Bhutto’s PPP won a majority in the National Assembly, and on December 1 Bhutto took office as prime minister of Pakistan. Her government fell in 1990, but from 1993 to 1996 she again served as Pakistani leader. More on This Topic Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto....... --My struggle to become the Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was twice prime minister of the Islamic state of Pakistan . She was groomed for political office from the age of 9 by her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. ï¿½ I was a very shy girl who led an insulated life. It was only when I came to Oxford and to Harvard before that, that suddenly I saw the power of people. I didn't know such a power existed. I saw people criticising their own president. You couldn't do that in Pakistan - you'd be thrown in prison. I saw the press take on the government. I was determined to go back home and to give to my people the freedoms and the choices- the individual dignity which I saw my college mates and everyone else in the West have.

That early educational influence has profoundly affected my outlook on life. Father assassinated My father was the Prime Minister of Pakistan. My grandfather had been in politics too. However my own inclination was for a job other than politics. I wanted to be a diplomat, perhaps do some journalism - certainly not politics. But when my father was imprisoned, then assassinated, I had no other choice but to continue in the work that he had started because so many of his followers wanted me to do so. General Zia called the first democratic elections since 1977 when he learned that I was pregnant, thinking that a pregnant woman couldn't campaign. I could, I did, and I won - so that disproved that notion. The most exciting moment in my life was when I was sworn in as Prime Minister. Rise to power I remember walking down the red carpet in the presidential palace, and I felt as though an invisible army of all those who had died fighting for freedom walked with me and it was a tremendous moment of vindication. I also felt a tremendous sense that Pakistan had showed the way for other Muslim countries - that a woman could be elected as chief executive.

Dealing with criticism I found that a whole series of people opposed me simply on the grounds that I was a woman. The clerics took to the mosque saying that Pakistan had thrown itself outside the Muslim world by voting for a woman - that a woman had usurped a man's place in the Islamic society. I found that my opponents reduced themselves to verbal abuse rather than discuss issues- the very mere fact that I was a woman seemed to drive them into a frenzy. So that was the biggest challenge. I don't know how to deal with that. I can deal with political differences, but how do you deal with it when someone says I don't like you because you're a woman and you've taken a man's place? I was brought up to believe that a woman can do anything that a man can. But there are certain things that only women can do such as carry a child and I found myself in a very strange position because each time I was pregnant my political opponents somehow thought I would be paralysed and would plot particularly against me at those points. Another time my political opponents had me teargassed at a time I was carrying my youngest child. It was a pretty harrowing experience.

I found that the old-fashioned notion that a woman who's expecting a child has to be bedridden was absolutely wrong, a woman can do anything if she's lucky enough not to have morning sickness. Legacy I would like to be remembered for symbolising democracy in Pakistan and the Muslim world and for heralding a world of democracy in Pakistan . But above all I want to be remembered for what I did for women. My identity comes ultimately from being a woman and I felt that my life has to make a difference to the lives of other women so in terms of population control or in terms of exposing domestic violence or in terms of permitting women easy access to credit to start business of their own, I have always done my best to allow women to succeed.ï¿½ This article has been adapted from a special series on women and power from BBC World Service. BBC NEWS | South Asia | Obituary: Benazir Bhutto Obituary: Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto followed her father into politics, and both of them died because of it - he was executed in 1979, she fell victim to an apparent suicide bomb attack. Her two brothers also suffered violent deaths.

Like the Nehru-Gandhi family in India, the Bhuttos of Pakistan are one of the world's most famous political dynasties. Benazir's father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was prime minister of Pakistan in the early 1970s. His government was one of the few in the 30 years following independence that was not run by the army. Born in 1953 in the province of Sindh and educated at Harvard and Oxford, Ms Bhutto gained credibility from her father's high profile, even though she was a reluctant convert to politics. She was twice prime minister of Pakistan, from 1988 to 1990, and from 1993 to 1996. Stubbornness On both occasions she was dismissed from office by the president for alleged corruption. The dismissals typified her volatile political career, which was characterised by numerous peaks and troughs. At the height of her popularity - shortly after her first election - she was one of the most high-profile women leaders in the world. Young and glamorous, she successfully portrayed herself as a refreshing contrast to the overwhelmingly male-dominated political establishment.

But after her second fall from power, her name came to be seen by some as synonymous with corruption and bad governance. Asif Zardari has faced numerous corruption charges The determination and stubbornness for which Ms Bhutto was renowned was first seen after her father was imprisoned by Gen Zia ul-Haq in 1977, following a military coup. Two years later he was executed after a much criticised trial on charges of conspiring to murder a political opponent. Ms Bhutto was imprisoned just before her father's death and spent most of her five-year jail term in solitary confinement. She described the conditions as extremely hard. During stints out of prison for medical treatment, Ms Bhutto set up a Pakistan People's Party office in London, and began a campaign against General Zia. She returned to Pakistan in 1986, attracting huge crowds to political rallies. After Gen Zia died in an explosion on board his aircraft in 1988, she became one of the first democratically elected female prime ministers in an Islamic country. Corruption charges During both her stints in power, the role of Ms Bhutto's husband, Asif Zardari, proved highly controversial.

He played a prominent role in both her administrations, and has been accused by various Pakistani governments of stealing millions of dollars from state coffers - charges he denies, as did Ms Bhutto herself. Many commentators argued that the downfall of Ms Bhutto's government was accelerated by the alleged greed of her husband. None of about 18 corruption and criminal cases against Mr Zardari has been proved in court after 10 years. But he served at least eight years in jail. He was freed on bail in 2004, amid accusations that the charges against him were weak and going nowhere. Ms Bhutto also steadfastly denied all the corruption charges against her, which she said were politically motivated. She faced corruption charges in at least five cases, all without a conviction, until amnestied in October 2007. President Pervez Musharraf granted Ms Bhutto and others an amnesty She was convicted in 1999 for failing to appear in court, but the Supreme Court later overturned that judgement. Soon after the conviction, audiotapes of conversations between the judge and some top aides of then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif were discovered that showed that the judge had been under pressure to convict.

Ms Bhutto left Pakistan in 1999 to live abroad, but questions about her and her husband's wealth continued to dog her. She appealed against a conviction in the Swiss courts for money-laundering. During her years outside Pakistan, Ms Bhutto lived with her three children in Dubai, where she was joined by her husband after he was freed in 2004. She was a regular visitor to Western capitals, delivering lectures at universities and think-tanks and meeting government officials. Army mistrust Ms Bhutto returned to Pakistan on 18 October 2007 after President Musharraf signed into law an ordinance granting her and others an amnesty from corruption charges. Observers said the military regime saw her as a natural ally in its efforts to isolate religious forces and their surrogate militants. She declined a government offer to let her party head the national government after the 2002 elections, in which the party received the largest number of votes. In the months before her death, she had emerged again as a strong contender for power. Some in Pakistan believe her secret talks with the military regime amounted to betrayal of democratic forces as these talks shored up President Musharraf's grip on the country.

Others said such talks indicated that the military might at long last be getting over its decades-old mistrust of Ms Bhutto and her party, and interpreted it as a good omen for democracy. Western powers saw in her a popular leader with liberal leanings who could bring much needed legitimacy to Mr Musharraf's role in the "war against terror". Unhappy family Benazir Bhutto was the last remaining bearer of her late father's political legacy. Her brother, Murtaza - who was once expected to play the role of party leader - fled to the then-communist Afghanistan after his father's fall. From there, and various Middle Eastern capitals, he mounted a campaign against Pakistan's military government with a militant group called al-Zulfikar. He won elections from exile in 1993 and became a provincial legislator, returning home soon afterwards, only to be shot dead under mysterious circumstances in 1996. Benazir's other brother, Shahnawaz - also politically active but in less violent ways than Murtaza - was found dead in his French Riviera apartment in 1985.

Benazir Bhutto - Former Prime Minister of Pakistan By Kallie Szczepanski Updated April 23, 2016. Benazir Bhutto was born into one of South Asia's great political dynasties, Pakistan's equivalent of the Nehru/Gandhi dynasty in India . Her father was president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973, and Prime Minister from 1973 to 1977; his father, in turn, was prime minister of a princely state before independence and the Partition of India . Politics in Pakistan, however, is a dangerous game. In the end, Benazir, her father, and both of her brothers would die violently. Early Life: Benazir Bhutto was born on June 21, 1953 in Karachi, Pakistan, the first child of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Begum Nusrat Ispahani. Nusrat was from Iran , and practiced Shi'a Islam , while her husband (and most other Pakistanis) practiced Sunni Islam . They raised Benazir and their other children as Sunnis, but in an open-minded and non-doctrinaire fashion.

The couple later would have two sons and another daughter: Murtaza (born in 1954), daughter Sanam (born in 1957), and Shahnawaz (born in 1958). continue reading below our video Test Your General Science Knowledge As the eldest child, Benazir was expected to do very well in her studies, regardless of her gender. Benazir went to school in Karachi through high school, then attended Radcliffe College (now part of Harvard University ) in the United States, where she studied comparative government. Bhutto later said that her experience in Boston reconfirmed her belief in the power of democracy. After graduating from Radcliffe in 1973, Benazir Bhutto spent several additional years studying at Oxford University in Great Britain. She took a wide variety of courses in international law and diplomacy, economics, philosophy and politics. Entry into Politics: Four years into Benazir's studies in England, the Pakistani military overthrew her father's government in a coup. The coup leader, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, imposed martial law on Pakistan and had Zulfikar Ali Bhutto arrested on trumped-up conspiracy charges.

Benazir returned home, where she and her brother Murtaza worked for 18 months to rally public opinion in support of their jailed father. The Supreme Court of Pakistan, meanwhile, convicted Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of conspiracy to commit murder, and sentenced him to death by hanging. Due to their activism on behalf of their father, Benazir and Murtaza were placed under house arrest off and on. As Zulfikar's designated execution date of April 4, 1979 drew closer, Benazir, her mother, and her younger siblings were all arrested and imprisoned in a police camp. Imprisonment: Despite an international outcry, General Zia's government hanged Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on April 4, 1979. Benazir, her brother, and her mother were in prison at the time, and were not allowed to prepare the former prime minister's body for burial in accordance with Islamic law.

When Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) won local elections that spring, Zia cancelled national elections and sent the surviving members of the Bhutto family to prison in Larkana, about 460 kilometers (285 miles) north of Karachi. Over the next five years, Benazir Bhutto would be held either in prison or under house arrest. Her worst experience was in a desert prison at Sukkur, where she was held in solitary confinement for six months of 1981, including the worst of the summer heat. Tormented by insects, and with her hair falling out and skin peeling off from the baking temperatures, Bhutto had to be hospitalized for several months after this experience. Once Benazir was sufficiently recovered from her term at Sukkur Jail, Zia's government sent her back to the Karachi Central Jail, then to Larkana once more, and back to Karachi under house arrest. Meanwhile, her mother, who had also been held at Sukkur, was diagnosed with lung cancer . Benazir herself had developed an inner ear problem that required surgery. International pressure mounted for Zia to allow them to leave Pakistan to seek medical care.

Finally, after six years of moving the Bhutto family from one form of imprisonment to the next, General Zia allowed them to go into exile in order to get treatment. Exile: Benazir Bhutto and her mother went to London in January of 1984 to begin their self-imposed medical exile. As soon as Benazir's ear problem was remedied, she began to publicly advocate against the Zia regime. Tragedy touched the family once more on July 18, 1985. After a family picnic, Benazir's youngest brother, the 27-year-old Shah Nawaz Bhutto, died of poisoning in his home in France. His family believed that his Afghan princess wife, Rehana, had murdered Shah Nawaz at the behest of the Zia regime; although French police held her in custody for some time, no charges were ever brought against her. Despite her grief, Benazir Bhutto continued her political involvement. She became the leader in exile of her father's Pakistan People's Party. Marriage & Family Life: Between the assassinations of her close relatives and Benazir's own frantically busy political schedule, she had no time for dating or meeting men.

In fact, by the time she entered her 30s, Benazir Bhutto had begun to assume that she would never marry; politics would be her life's work and only love. However, her family had other ideas. An auntie advocated for a fellow Sindhi and scion of a landed family, a young man named Asif Ali Zardari . Benazir refused to even meet him at first, but after a concerted effort by her family and his, the marriage was arranged (despite Benazir's feminist qualms about arranged marriages). The marriage was a happy one, and the couple had three children - a son, Bilawal (born 1988), and two daughters, Bakhtawar (born 1990) and Aseefa (born 1993). They had hoped for a larger family, but Asif Zardari was imprisoned for seven years, so they were unable to have more children. Return and Election as Prime Minister: On August 17, 1988, the Bhuttos received a favor from the heavens, as it were.

A C-130 carrying General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and several of his top military commanders, along with US Ambassador to Pakistan Arnold Lewis Raphel, crashed near Bahawalpur, in the Punjab region of Pakistan. No definitive cause was ever established, although theories included sabotage, Indian missile strike, or a suicidal pilot. Simple mechanical failure seems the most likely cause, however. Zia's unexpected death cleared the way for Benazir and her mother to lead the PPP to victory in the November 16, 1988 parliamentary elections. Benazir became Pakistan's eleventh prime minister on December 2, 1988. Not only was she Pakistan's first female Prime Minister, but also the first woman to lead a Muslim nation in modern times. She focused on social and political reforms, which rankled more traditional or Islamist politicians. Prime Minister Bhutto faced a number of international policy problems during her first tenure in office, including the Soviet and American withdrawal from Afghanistan and the resulting chaos. Bhutto reached out to India , establishing a good working relationship with Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, but that initiative failed when he was voted out of office, and then assassinated by Tamil Tigers in 1991.

Pakistan's relationship with the United States, already strained by the situation in Afghanistan, broke altogether in 1990 over the issue of nuclear weapons . Benazir Bhutto firmly believed that Pakistan needed a credible nuclear deterrent, since India had already tested a nuclear bomb in 1974. Corruption Charges: On the domestic front, Prime Minister Bhutto sought to improve human rights and the position of women in Pakistani society. She restored freedom of the press, and allowed labor unions and student groups to meet openly once again. Prime Minister Bhutto also working assiduously to weaken the ultra-conservative president of Pakistan, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, and his allies in the military leadership. However, Khan had veto power over parliamentary actions, which severely restricted Benazir's effectiveness on matters of political reform. In November of 1990, Khan dismissed Benazir Bhutto from the Prime Ministership and called new elections. She was charged with corruption and nepotism under the Eighth Amendment to the Pakistani Constitution; Bhutto always maintained that the charges were purely political. The conservative parliamentarian Nawaz Sharif became the new prime minister, while Benazir Bhutto was relegated to being the opposition leader for five years.

When Sharif also tried to repeal the Eighth Amendment, President Ghulam Ishaq Khan used it to recall his government in 1993, just as he had done to Bhutto's government three years earlier. As a result, Bhutto and Sharif joined forces to oust President Khan in 1993. Second Term as Prime Minister: In October of 1993, Benazir Bhutto's PPP got a plurality of the parliamentary seats, and formed a coalition government. Once again, Bhutto became prime minister. Her hand-picked candidate for the presidency, Farooq Leghari, took office in the place of Khan. In 1995, an alleged conspiracy to oust Bhutto in a military coup was exposed, and the leaders tried and jailed for sentences of two to fourteen years. Some observers believe that the putative coup was simply an excuse for Benazir to rid the military of some of her opponents. On the other hand, she had first-hand knowledge of the danger a military coup could pose, considering her father's fate.

Tragedy struck the Bhuttos once more on September 20, 1996, when Karachi police shot dead Benazir's surviving brother, Mir Ghulam Murtaza Bhutto. Murtaza had not gotten along well with Benazir's husband, which sparked conspiracy theories about his assassination. Even Benazir Bhutto's own mother accused the prime minister and her husband of causing Murtaza's death. In 1997, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was dismissed from office once more, this time by President Leghari, whom she had supported. Again, she was charged with corruption; her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, was also implicated. Leghari reportedly believed that the couple were implicated in Murtaza Bhutto's assassination. Exile Once More: Benazir Bhutto stood for parliamentary elections in February of 1997, but was defeated. Meanwhile, her husband had been arrested trying to get to Dubai , and went on trial for corruption. While in prison, Zardari won a parliamentary seat.

In April of 1999, both Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari were convicted of corruption, and were fined $8.6 million US each. They were both sentenced to five years in prison. However, Bhutto was already in Dubai, which refused to extradite her back to Pakistan, so only Zardari served his sentence. In 2004, after his release, he joined his wife in exile in Dubai. Return to Pakistan: On October 5, 2007, General and President Pervez Musharraf granted Benazir Bhutto amnesty from all of her corruption convictions. Two weeks later, Bhutto returned to Pakistan to campaign for the 2008 elections. On the day she landed at Karachi, a suicide bomber attacked her convoy surrounded by well-wishers, killing 136 and injuring 450; Bhutto escaped unharmed. In response, Musharraf declared a state of emergency on November 3. Bhutto criticised the declaration, and called Musharraf a dictator. Five days later, Benazir Bhutto was placed under house arrest to prevent her from rallying her supporters against the state of emergency.

Bhutto was freed from house arrest the following day, but the state of emergency remained in effect until December 16, 2007. In the meantime, however, Musharraf gave up his post as a general in the army, affirming his intention to rule as a civilian. The Assassination of Benazir Bhutto: On December 27, 2007, Bhutto appeared at an election rally in the park known as Liaquat National Bagh in Rawalpindi. As she was leaving the rally, she stood up to wave to supporters through the sunroof of her SUV. A gunman shot her three times, and then explosives went off all around the vehicle. Twenty people died on the scene; Benazir Bhutto passed away about an hour later in the hospital. Her cause of death was not the gunshot wounds but rather blunt force head trauma. The blast of the explosions had slammed her head into the edge of the sunroof with terrible force. Benazir Bhutto died at the age of 54, leaving behind a complicated legacy.

The charges of corruption leveled against her husband and herself do not seem to have been entirely invented for political reasons, despite Bhutto's assertions to the contrary in her autobiography. We may never know whether she had any fore-knowledge about her brother's assassination. In the end, though, nobody can question Benazir Bhutto's bravery. She and her family endured tremendous hardships, and whatever her faults as a leader, she genuinely did strive to improve life for the ordinary people of Pakistan. For more information about women in power in Asia, see this list of Female Heads of State . Sources: " Obituary: Benazir Bhutto ," BBC News, Dec. 27, 2007. Bhutto, Benazir. Daughter of Destiny: An Autobiography, 2nd ed., New York: Harper Collins, 2008. Bhutto, Benazir. Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West, New York: Harper Collins, 2008. Englar, Mary. Benazir Bhutto: Pakistani Prime Minister and Activist, Minneapolis, MN: Compass Point Books, 2006.

Benazir Bhutto | prime minister of Pakistan | Britannica.com prime minister of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf Benazir Bhutto, (born June 21, 1953, Karachi , Pak.—died Dec. 27, 2007, Rawalpindi ), Pakistani politician who became the first woman leader of a Muslim nation in modern history. She served two terms as prime minister of Pakistan, in 1988–90 and in 1993–96. Benazir Bhutto. Aamir Qureshi—AFP/Getty Images Bhutto was the daughter of the politician Zulfikar Ali Bhutto , who was the leader of Pakistan from 1971 until 1977. She was educated at Harvard University (B.A., 1973) and subsequently studied philosophy, political science, and economics at the University of Oxford (B.A., 1977).

After her father’s execution in 1979 during the rule of the military dictator Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq , Bhutto became the titular head of her father’s party, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and endured frequent house arrest from 1979 to 1984. In exile from 1984 to 1986, she returned to Pakistan after the lifting of martial law and soon became the foremost figure in the political opposition to Zia. President Zia died in August 1988 in a mysterious plane crash, leaving a power vacuum at the centre of Pakistani politics. In the ensuing elections, Bhutto’s PPP won the single largest bloc of seats in the National Assembly . She became prime minister on Dec. 1, 1988, heading a coalition government. Bhutto was unable to do much to combat Pakistan’s widespread poverty, governmental corruption, and increasing crime. In August 1990 the president of Pakistan, Ghulam Ishaq Khan , dismissed her government on charges of corruption and other malfeasance and called for new elections.

Bhutto’s PPP suffered a defeat in the national elections of October 1990; thereafter she led the parliamentary opposition against her successor, Nawaz Sharif . In elections held in October 1993 the PPP won a plurality of votes, and Bhutto again became head of a coalition government . Under renewed allegations of corruption, economic mismanagement, and a decline of law and order, her government was dismissed in November 1996 by Pres. Farooq Leghari. Voter turnout was low in the 1997 elections, in which Bhutto’s PPP suffered a decisive loss to Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League party. With British and Swiss cooperation, Sharif’s administration continued to pursue the corruption charges against Bhutto. In 1999 Bhutto and her husband, the controversial businessman and senator Asif Ali Zardari —jailed since 1996 on a variety of additional charges—were both convicted of corruption by a Lahore court, a decision overturned by the Supreme Court in 2001 because of evidence of governmental interference. Bhutto did not achieve political accommodation with Gen.

Pervez Musharraf ’s seizure of power in a 1999 coup d’état; her demands that the charges against her and her husband be dropped were denied, undercutting negotiations with the Musharraf government regarding a return to the country from her self-imposed exile. Facing standing arrest warrants should she return to Pakistan, Bhutto remained in exile in London and Dubai from the late 1990s. Britannica Stories Scientists Ponder Menopause in Killer Whales Because of Musharraf’s 2002 decree banning prime ministers from serving a third term, Bhutto was not permitted to stand for elections that same year. In addition, legislation in 2000 that prohibited a court-convicted individual from holding party office hindered her party, as Bhutto’s unanimously elected leadership would have excluded the PPP from participating in elections. In response to these obstacles, the PPP split, registering a new, legally distinct branch called the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP). Legally separate and free from the restrictions brought upon the PPP by Bhutto’s leadership, the PPPP participated in the 2002 elections, in which it proceeded to earn a strong vote.

However, Bhutto’s terms for cooperation with the military government—that all charges against her and against her husband be withdrawn—continued to be denied. In 2004 Bhutto’s husband was released from prison on bail and joined Bhutto in exile. Just before the 2007 elections, talk began to circulate of Bhutto’s return to Pakistan. Benazir Bhutto after receiving the World Tolerance Award at the Women’s World Awards ceremony, … Sean Gallup/Getty Images BBC News Online | Obituary: Benazir Bhutto Obituary: Benazir Bhutto 27 December 07 14:04 GMT Benazir Bhutto followed her father into politics, and both of them died because of it - he was executed in 1979, she fell victim to an apparent suicide bomb attack. Her two brothers also suffered violent deaths. Like the Nehru-Gandhi family in India, the Bhuttos of Pakistan are one of the world's most famous political dynasties. Benazir's father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was prime minister of Pakistan in the early 1970s.

His government was one of the few in the 30 years following independence that was not run by the army. Born in 1953 in the province of Sindh and educated at Harvard and Oxford, Ms Bhutto gained credibility from her father's high profile, even though she was a reluctant convert to politics. She was twice prime minister of Pakistan, from 1988 to 1990, and from 1993 to 1996. Stubbornness On both occasions she was dismissed from office by the president for alleged corruption. The dismissals typified her volatile political career, which was characterised by numerous peaks and troughs. At the height of her popularity - shortly after her first election - she was one of the most high-profile women leaders in the world. Young and glamorous, she successfully portrayed herself as a refreshing contrast to the overwhelmingly male-dominated political establishment. But after her second fall from power, her name came to be seen by some as synonymous with corruption and bad governance. The determination and stubbornness for which Ms Bhutto was renowned was first seen after her father was imprisoned by Gen Zia ul-Haq in 1977, following a military coup.

Two years later he was executed after a much criticised trial on charges of conspiring to murder a political opponent. Ms Bhutto was imprisoned just before her father's death and spent most of her five-year jail term in solitary confinement. She described the conditions as extremely hard. During stints out of prison for medical treatment, Ms Bhutto set up a Pakistan People's Party office in London, and began a campaign against General Zia. She returned to Pakistan in 1986, attracting huge crowds to political rallies. After Gen Zia died in an explosion on board his aircraft in 1988, she became one of the first democratically elected female prime ministers in an Islamic country. Corruption charges During both her stints in power, the role of Ms Bhutto's husband, Asif Zardari, proved highly controversial. He played a prominent role in both her administrations, and has been accused by various Pakistani governments of stealing millions of dollars from state coffers - charges he denies, as did Ms Bhutto herself. Many commentators argued that the downfall of Ms Bhutto's government was accelerated by the alleged greed of her husband.

None of about 18 corruption and criminal cases against Mr Zardari has been proved in court after 10 years. But he served at least eight years in jail. He was freed on bail in 2004, amid accusations that the charges against him were weak and going nowhere. Ms Bhutto also steadfastly denied all the corruption charges against her, which she said were politically motivated. She faced corruption charges in at least five cases, all without a conviction, until amnestied in October 2007. She was convicted in 1999 for failing to appear in court, but the Supreme Court later overturned that judgement. Soon after the conviction, audiotapes of conversations between the judge and some top aides of then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif were discovered that showed that the judge had been under pressure to convict. Ms Bhutto left Pakistan in 1999 to live abroad, but questions about her and her husband's wealth continued to dog her. She appealed against a conviction in the Swiss courts for money-laundering. During her years outside Pakistan, Ms Bhutto lived with her three children in Dubai, where she was joined by her husband after he was freed in 2004.

She was a regular visitor to Western capitals, delivering lectures at universities and think-tanks and meeting government officials. Army mistrust Ms Bhutto returned to Pakistan on 18 October 2007 after President Musharraf signed into law an ordinance granting her and others an amnesty from corruption charges. Observers said the military regime saw her as a natural ally in its efforts to isolate religious forces and their surrogate militants. She declined a government offer to let her party head the national government after the 2002 elections, in which the party received the largest number of votes. In the months before her death, she had emerged again as a strong contender for power. Some in Pakistan believe her secret talks with the military regime amounted to betrayal of democratic forces as these talks shored up President Musharraf's grip on the country. Others said such talks indicated that the military might at long last be getting over its decades-old mistrust of Ms Bhutto and her party, and interpreted it as a good omen for democracy. Western powers saw in her a popular leader with liberal leanings who could bring much needed legitimacy to Mr Musharraf's role in the "war against terror".

Unhappy family Benazir Bhutto was the last remaining bearer of her late father's political legacy. Her brother, Murtaza - who was once expected to play the role of party leader - fled to the then-communist Afghanistan after his father's fall. From there, and various Middle Eastern capitals, he mounted a campaign against Pakistan's military government with a militant group called al-Zulfikar. He won elections from exile in 1993 and became a provincial legislator, returning home soon afterwards, only to be shot dead under mysterious circumstances in 1996. Benazir's other brother, Shahnawaz - also politically active but in less violent ways than Murtaza - was found dead in his French Riviera apartment in 1985. Benazir Bhutto, horoscope for birth date 21 June 1953, born in Karachi, with Astrodatabank biography - Astro-Databank photo: iFaqeer, license gfdl Biography Pakistani politician, the first woman leader of the Islamic world. She was the daughter of Ali Bhutto who ruled Pakistan in the '70s.

Her dad was overthrown by General Zia in 1977 and executed two years later. The young woman was educated in Harvard and Oxford before entering politics in 1988 while carrying her first child (of three). Her son Bilawal was born 9/21/1988 and she won the national elections on 11/16/1988, taking the oath of office as P.M. on December 2nd, at age 35. On 8/06/1990, Bhutto and her entire cabinet were dismissed by the President on charges of rampant corruption. She continued to engage the political arena, becoming leader of the opposition Peoples' Party of Pakistan, holding a seat in Parliament. After having been twice elected prime minister and twice dismissed for alleged corruption and incompetence, she was found guilty for a third time on 4/15/1999. Her husband, Senator Asif Ali Zardari, was also convicted of taking kickbacks from a Swiss company. The couple was fined $8.6 million. In late 2007 she re-entered Pakistan hoping to take political power away from Musharraf in the upcoming elections.

Violence accompanied her homecoming on October 18, 2007 but did not deter her. She was placed under house arrest but was freed in mid-November. On December 27, 2007, Bhutto was getting into her car after a political rally when bullets let loose at close range. She was brought to a hospital and died on December 27, 2007 at about 6:16 PM local time in a Rawalpindi, Pakistan hospital. The assassin subsequently blew himself up, killing 20 others. Her mother Nusrat survived her but died on October 23, 2011 in Dubai. She had been suffering from Alzheimer's and cancer. chart Placidus Equal_H. Source Notes Qamar Abbas wrote to Marguerite dar Boggia that he had obtained this time of 7:21 PM from Bhutto's father who had given it to his astrologer Cyrus D. F Abayakoon. Use with caution as this is unverified and third-hand information. In addition, we have conflicting times.

Originally LMR quoted "date given in Planet Earth, time unknown." In December 2007 PT changed rating from X to DD as multiple times surfaced but no original sources have been given. In December 2007 Michael Wolfstar Reilly listed 7:59 PM on his website with no source; when questioned by e-mail (December 2007) about the source, he wrote the following to PT: I wrote an article about her in 2002, which is when I researched her birth time. I found her birth time of 7:59 pm in a magazine that is now defunct, The Astrological Magazine. Unfortunately, that was three computers ago, and I no longer have the source notes with the exact issue, but it was written by the editor B.V. Raman, who I understand is not prone to rectifying charts. Sy Scholfield found 9:00 PM, citing data from the article, "Prospects for Benazir Bhutto," Astrological Magazine, v.78:1-6 (1989), p.

413: "Benazir was born June 21, 1953 at 9,00 pm in Karachi as published in the newspapers in Pakistan." Sy adds, "NB: A birth time of "7.43 pm LMT" was given in an earlier issue of the same magazine (v.75:1-6 [1986], p. 21), so the 9pm time is presumably an update. Bhutto reportedly said in an interview that she was born at night: "'I was born at night,' Ms. Bhutto says, welcoming guests as she wraps a cream-coloured dupatta, a scarf, around her head. 'So I think I function better at night'" (John Stackhouse, "Benazir Bhutto's darkest hours," The Globe and Mail, 1 October 1998, p. A1)" Amer Abbas Shah (Pakistan) is quoted as saying: "This time of 7:32 Pm was posted by me in Political Astrology Group.

This data was used by my two Gurus Dr Mohammad Ayub Taji aand Dr Ijaz hussain Butt and many other prominent Astrologers from Paaakisstaan [sic] since 1988 and it was actually passed by one of her family member to my teacher Dr Mohammad Ayub Taji. I also used this data for many succesful predictions." < The Astrological Magazine, which was restarted in 1936 by Dr. B.V. Raman and edited by him for over 62 years, until his passing away in December 1998, is the world’s foremost and most authentic journal on Jyotisha or Hindu astrology with an international readership.> The Indian website uses a different date, 23 June 1953, 4 pm. The astrologer K.N. Rao writes: "We all had our prediction [which Rao claims to have made in October 2007] on the basis of the horoscope passed on by Benazir herself through Natwar Singh to me in the early eighties.

(Most sources give 6/21/1953, not 6/23/1953, for her birth date)." Categories Family : Childhood : Family traumatic event (Father and two brothers slain) Family : Parenting : Kids 1-3 Passions : Criminal Victim : Terrorism victim (Fatal attack) Vocation : Politics : Heads of state (P.M. of Pakistan, first woman leader) Vocation : Politics : Public office (Member of Parliament) BBC NEWS | Have Your Say | Viewpoint: My struggle to be Prime Minister Printable version Viewpoint: My struggle to be Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was twice prime minister of the Islamic state of Pakistan. She was groomed for political office from the age of 9 by her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. I was a very shy girl who led an insulated life. It was only when I came to Oxford and to Harvard before that, that suddenly I saw the power of people. I didn't know such a power existed. I saw people criticising their own president. You couldn't do that in Pakistan - you'd be thrown in prison. I saw the press take on the government.

I was determined to go back home and to give to my people the freedoms and the choices- the individual dignity which I saw my college mates and everyone else in the West have. That early educational influence has profoundly affected my outlook on life. Father assassinated Aged 16 sent to Harvard University 1979 Benazir Bhutto's father is executed 1988 Bhutto becomes Prime Minister 1990 Benazir Bhutto dismissed as Prime Minister 1993 Benazir Bhutto back in power 1996 Bhutto's government dismissed My father was the Prime Minister of Pakistan. My grandfather had been in politics too. However my own inclination was for a job other than politics. I wanted to be a diplomat, perhaps do some journalism - certainly not politics. But when my father was imprisoned, then assassinated, I had no other choice but to continue in the work that he had started because so many of his followers wanted me to do so. General Zia called the first democratic elections since 1977 when he learned that I was pregnant, thinking that a pregnant woman couldn't campaign. I could, I did, and I won - so that disproved that notion.

The most exciting moment in my life was when I was sworn in as Prime Minister. Rise to power I remember walking down the red carpet in the presidential palace, and I felt as though an invisible army of all those who had died fighting for freedom walked with me and it was a tremendous moment of vindication. I also felt a tremendous sense that Pakistan had showed the way for other Muslim countries - that a woman could be elected as chief executive. Dealing with criticism I found that a whole series of people opposed me simply on the grounds that I was a woman. The clerics took to the mosque saying that Pakistan had thrown itself outside the Muslim world by voting for a woman - that a woman had usurped a man's place in the Islamic society. I was brought up to believe that a woman can do anything that a man can I found that my opponents reduced themselves to verbal abuse rather than discuss issues- the very mere fact that I was a woman seemed to drive them into a frenzy. So that was the biggest challenge. I don't know how to deal with that. I can deal with political differences, but how do you deal with it when someone says I don't like you because you're a woman and you've taken a man's place?

I was brought up to believe that a woman can do anything that a man can. But there are certain things that only women can do such as carry a child and I found myself in a very strange position because each time I was pregnant my political opponents somehow thought I would be paralysed and would plot particularly against me at those points. Another time my political opponents had me teargassed at a time I was carrying my youngest child. It was a pretty harrowing experience. I found that the old-fashioned notion that a woman who's expecting a child has to be bedridden was absolutely wrong, a woman can do anything if she's lucky enough not to have morning sickness. Legacy I would like to be remembered for symbolising democracy in Pakistan and the Muslim world and for heralding a world of democracy in Pakistan. But above all I want to be remembered for what I did for women. My identity comes ultimately from being a woman and I felt that my life has to make a difference to the lives of other women so in terms of population control or in terms of exposing domestic violence or in terms of permitting women easy access to credit to start business of their own, I have always done my best to allow women to succeed.

This article has been adapted from a special series on women and power from BBC World Service. Do you have any comments on this article? Send us your views using the form below. The following comments reflect the balance of views received: I would like to know her definition of democracy and success Anna, UK Having lived and worked in Pakistan I really wonder when Ms. Bhutto is going to stop this talk about how she has done all that she could for the women of Pakistan and how she fought for democracy etc. I would like to know her definition of democracy and success, because I surely cannot name one thing she did for the women and people of Pakistan. Anna, UK The people of Pakistan did not elect Ms Bhutto twice to prove that an Islamic Pakistan can elect a woman as prime minister, rather, the people elected her to follow in her father's footsteps. Her agenda was the complete opposite to that of her father's Tariq Jamshaid, Australia Everyone has clearly said that Benazir had failed as a Prime Minister not once but twice. Haven't men who have led the governments of different countries failed ever? Mamta, Oman I admire her strength and courage. She has shown that the impossible can be done.

Regardless of political gains or losses, she has given hope to those who did not know how to dream of liberation. Leigh Stewart, United States Would you mind clarifying exactly what it is that you did for women in Pakistan? Nadia, Manchester, UK I'm sorry, Ms Bhutto, but would you mind clarifying exactly what it is that you did for women in Pakistan during your stints as prime minister? I'm sure the women of Pakistan would like to be told as well. Nadia, Manchester, UK She talks of democracy, freedom of speech etc and yet practised very little (if any) of it when she was in power. She comes across as someone who has been wronged by the 'evil generals' in Pakistan - yet it was the people of Pakistan who were wronged during her two stints as Prime Minister. As rightly pointed out by other BBC viewers; like it or not, fact is that Pakistan and its people are better off with Musharaff. Asif Altaf, UK Ms. Bhutto is talking about how she has done her best to expose domestic violence, birth problems etc.

However, in her two chances as prime minister, the situation of women in rural Pakistan (which is most of the the country's area), worsened and practices such as karo-kari (honor killing) continued unabated. Sameer, USA I am a Mexican woman and I always support the Benazir Bhutto's actions. I think she is great woman. Marcia. B. Sanchez Martinez, Tijuana, Mexico Pakistan isn't ready for democracy Afra, Chicago, IL Benazir was given a couple of chances, and sure, she may have been better than Zia before he was assassinated but I feel that Musharraf is doing a great job of ruling Pakistan. He offers true freedom of speech, and Pakistan has progressed forward. She's using the excuse of religious clerics ruining her chances. The fact is, she became prime minister and blew it. No-one else is to blame for that. Pakistan isn't ready for democracy, and people such as Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif have proved it to us. Afra, Chicago, IL It was very courageous of prime minister Bhutto to step forward and become the first female leader of Pakistan.

Regardless of her policies, her ultimate legacy will be that the barrier is broken for all the other women. Patrick Kubin, USA The point of this story was not about Benazir's successes or failures in her capacity as PM of Pakistan. It was intended to try to point out the struggles that a Muslim woman encounters when attempting to break free of the almost slave-like conditions that men impose on women in the name of Islam. Some of the previous posters to this article pointed out that Benazir's tenure as PM proves that Islam gives equal rights to men and women. As a non-Muslim Westerner I have to say that I have a hard time reconciling such an opinion against some of the tenets of Sharia law and things such as the "revenge killings" being perpetrated in countries like Jordan. Dave Geller, USA She defied all the so called Mullahs who claimed they know Islam and the role of women Mohamed R. Khan, USA The mere fact that Benazir became prime minister makes me proud of her. She defied all the so called Mullahs who claimed they know Islam and the role of women.

I wonder how many of the so called Islamic scholars, who scorned and attacked Benazir personally, could have done what she tried to for Muslims in Pakistan - namely freedom and democracy? Please note, not only men are Muslims, Pakistani women are also Muslims who deserve the same rights as us men. Mohamed R. Khan, USA If she is such a democrat, how come she got herself elected as the "lifetime" chairperson of her own political party. She is very good at preaching, but not nearly as good a practising. Razal Minhas, Pakistan, USA It is easy in hindsight to say that she did little to contribute to Pakistan's government TM, US The fact remains that the people of Pakistan, both men and women, voted Benazir Bhutto into power. Even though the state of women in Pakistan is much better than in other countries, there are still some countries where women have little or no rights at all. Pakistan has never had much of a stable government, and it is easy in hindsight to say that she did little to contribute to Pakistan's government. It is easy to say that she had "a chance and blew it", sometimes it takes more than one chance and still today she tries to rise once again.

In the US we have had many great and some not so great men presiding over our country. I hope that in my life time, the American public will vote a women as President. If an Islamic nation can do it, it's time for us to do so too. TM, US In fact Mr. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was a world-class leader and is still considered as a true legend in Pakistani politics. Benazir had her chance to prove her leadership but she could not carry on the legacy of her father. Irfan, USA Oh please save me the tears. Ms Bhutto had the chance to lead her country but instead plunged it deeper into despair and poverty so why should she be given a second chance? Give it a rest! Ajk, UK What did she do for the women of Pakistan? Absolutely nothing! Murad Ansari, Pakistan President Musharraf reserved one-third seats for women in the parliament, senate, provincial assemblies as well as in the local government councils. What did she do for the women of Pakistan? Absolutely nothing! Murad Ansari, Pakistan I was in Pakistan when she was prime minister. She did not do anything to strengthen the democratic process in the country.

She was elected because of her father, and had no political experience. Her opponents did not take her seriously not because she is a women or was pregnant but because she never had any serious issues to talk about. Instead of blaming others she should take a good hard look at her political mistakes. Arjumand Jaffri, USA Ms. Bhutto's two terms in office had no positive impact on the lives of Pakistani women. In contrast Gen. Musharraf, has advanced female empowerment by having women in his cabinet, reserving 33% seats for them in local councils, and 20% seats in the National Assembly. Why couldn't Ms. Bhutto have taken similar steps? Naved, USA I don't think that the former prime minister qualifies to share the stories of her "struggle". The space taken up by this article could have been better used highlighting the experiences of an average woman in a Muslim society; a student or a working professional. Jawad R., Pakistan/Canada Benazir becoming the Prime Minister of Pakistan proves that Islam gives equal rights to both men and women. name here Benazir becoming the Prime Minister of Pakistan proves that Islam gives equal rights to both men and women. Mr.

Bhutto, her father, was a great leader who wanted democracy to flourish in Pakistan and Benazir's will to carry on his mission will keep him alive. Kamran Haider, Pakistan She speaks now as if she was championing the cause of Muslim women but Pakistan is definitely a lot better off today under President Musharraf in terms of freedom of speech and progress. Taha Mohd, Buffalo, USA Pakistan or any Third World country does not need the shambles of democracy Wahid Muslim How can a woman be voted head of state in a country where a majority of women cannot go out, work, marry, vote etc without the permission of their men? Pakistan was and still is largely a feudal society where block voting occurs by decisions largely dictated by the men and particularly the elders of a tribe. Pakistan or any Third World country does not need the shambles of democracy as in the US and UK, which are elected dictatorships on behalf of global companies. Islam is a much abused by Muslims, especially so called leaders and extremely misunderstood by the West. Let the West have true democracy itself, especially where power matters (UN Security Council) before it starts dictating to the rest of the world that they must have democracy.

Wahid Muslim Reading through this article, the world will get an impression that Benazir is the sole voice of true Pakistanis. Well that is not the case. We are better off now under Musharraf than we were when she was in power. Sadiq Ali Bohra, Hyderabad, Pakistan What did she do in Pakistan in two terms of premiership? Did she practice any of the democratic norms she is now talking about? How come she is party chairperson without being elected by the members? Nawaz, UK Benazir was given the chance not once, but twice, to change the life of millions and destiny of a nation. She failed.. M. I. Iqbal, Pakistan I have relatives and indeed my wife is from Pakistan. I am a British Asian (born and bred in the UK). Frankly, she was given a chance and she blew it. The point is not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country!

AK, UK About Benazir Bhutto | Videos About Benazir Bhutto In 1982, three years after her father’s execution, 29-year-old Benazir Bhutto became the chairperson of the PPP—a political party, making her the first woman in Pakistan to head a major political party. In 1988, she became the first woman to be elected as the head of an Islamic state’s government; she also remains Pakistan’s only female prime minister. Noted for her charismatic authority and political astuteness, Bhutto drove initiatives for Pakistan’s economy and national security, and she implemented capitalist policies for industrial development and growth. In addition, her political philosophy and economic policies emphasised deregulation (particularly of the financial sector), flexible labour markets, the denationalisation of state-owned corporations, and the withdrawal of subsidies to others. Bhutto’s popularity waned amid recession, corruption, and high unemployment which later led to the dismissal of her government by conservative President Ghulam Ishaq Khan. In 1993, Bhutto was elected for a second term after the 1993 parliamentary elections.

She survived an attempted coup d’état in 1995, and her hard line against the trade unions and tough rhetorical opposition to her domestic political rivals and to neighbouring India earned her the nickname “Iron Lady”; she was also respectfully referred to as “BB”. In 1996, charges of corruption levelled against her led to the final dismissal of her government by President Farooq Leghari. Bhutto conceded her defeat in the 1997 Parliamentary elections and went into exile in Dubai in 1999. Nine years later, in 2007, she returned to Pakistan, having reached an understanding with President Pervez Musharraf, who granted her amnesty and withdrew all corruption charges against her. Bhutto was assassinated in a bombing on 27 December 2007, after leaving PPP’s last rally in Rawalpindi, two weeks before the scheduled 2008 general election in which she was the leading candidate. Her party subsequently won the elections on a wave of sympathy generated by her assassination. Childhood & Early Life Benazir Bhutto was born to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Begum Nusrat Ispahani.

She was the eldest of the four siblings. Her father was the former prime minister of Pakistan. As such, since young, she was exposed to political ideas and policies. She completed her early education from Pakistan and went to US to enrol herself at Radcliffe College, Harvard University. In 1973, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree with cum laude honours in comparative government. From 1973 until 1977, she studied philosophy, politics and economics at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, United Kingdom. In 1976, she became the first Asian woman to be elected as the President of Oxford Union. Please Share this Website. Thank you!

Question: Who was Benazir Bhutto's Father who was executed in 1988?
Answer: Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto